Public Statements

Issue Position: Jobs

Issue Position

To help stimulate job creation, we should consider eliminating the corporate income tax. This is only 5% of the revenue coming into the General Fund. Currently at 7.11% (w/surtax), this is the highest in the Southeast. Businesses relocating to NC for this reason alone would be likely to rapidly produce multiples of this revenue -- plus dramatically improve the dismal unemployment rate that hovers around 10%. All states on our borders have lower income tax, corporate tax, and unemployment rates.

We should drop the income tax from 7.98% (Top rate w/surtax) to 6% to bring into line with neighboring states. We are in competition for skilled workers who are mobile enough to seek the best economic conditions.

We should seek out the best regulatory and job start-up programs from states like Virginia, Texas, and Louisiana. These have all devised business-friendly programs -- cutting red tape and bureaucratic hassles that often keep out businesses looking to relocate to low-tax states.

We need to stop picking winners and losers by tax incentive programs, loan guarantees, and land deals. These methods are unfair to businesses already in North Carolina that find ways to cut costs and still make a profit without a government hand-out, and also lend themselves to arbitrary corruption.